Artist: Taj Mahal & The Hula Blues Band
   Album: Hanapepe Dream
   Label: Tone Cool
   Year: 2000
   Release: 2003
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
   Time: 44:47
   Size: 103Mb
   AMG Rating:

   Хоть жанр этого альбома везде определен как блюз, это просто выезд товарища Taj Mahal на Гаваи. Идея очень напоминает сцену из мультика про капитана Врунгеля, где он с Фуксом были "гавайскими гитарами". Очень мило, по домашнему. Taj Mahal он везде велик как Taj Mahal

   Recorded in the year 2000 in Bremen and in Hawaii, Hanapepe Dream is ethnomusicologist, guitarist, and composer Taj Mahal's own gumbo of Caribbean, Polynesian, African, and American folk roots styles done up in the glorious dress of "song," for anyone who has ears to hear, feet to shuffle, and an ass to shake. Featuring a large band replete with three ukuleles (little, baritone, and tenor), Hawaiian steel guitars, slack key guitars, horns, steel drums, and standard bass, drums, and guitars, Mahal reveals why he's a master of combining traditions and musics from different histories and regions. In fact, Mahal can prove, via his very fine performance here, that all forms of soul and blues, reggae, jazz, and rock & roll music come from one source and that source lies in the African Diaspora. Mahal's own songs here are fine offerings: There's "Great Big Boat," the opener full of celebratory drums and choral singing and loping winds and horns, and "Baby You're My Destiny," a slippery swing tune that borders on Hawaiian folk music and could have been recorded by Django Reinhardt with Louis Prima, Gabby Pahinui, and Ike Quebec sitting in. . . .

   Artist: Kirk Whalum
   Album: Ultimate Kirk Whalum
   Album: Mosaic
   Year: 2007
   Format: MP3, VBR
   Size: 80 MB
   AMG Rating:

   Mosaic's Contemporary series does it right with this 12-cut retrospective of tenor saxophonist Kirk Whalum. Ultimate contains cuts covering nearly 20 years in the enigmatic Whalum's recording (from his 1985 debut Floppy Disc on Columbia through his beautiful 2002 album, Hymns in the Garden for Warner Brothers). The hallmark of Whalum's sound is his unmistakable voice as a soloist. Matt Pierson, who wrote the liner notes, rightly asserts that along with the late Grover Washington, Jr. and David Sanborn, Whalum's sound on the horn is utterly individual in contemporary jazz. But it's more than tone and phrasing (which owe as much to Arnett Cobb, Booker Ervin, and Illinois Jacquet than his forebears in the genre), it's the inherent ability to convey emotion, imagination and technique no matter what he plays. In fact, if anyone could make a case against the snobs for contemporary jazz it is Whalum. Admittedly, some of the technological sounds of the records he has made have dated, such as the drum machines and computer programming, but the notion of the songs themselves is timeless. Take a listen to "All I Need," from 1987's Colors album. While Philippe Saisse's programming textures are a bit redundant, the gospel choral and the Hammond B-3 are as timeless as Whalum's honking, crooning, and shouting on the horn. . . .

   Artist: Julie London
   Album: Lonely Girl & Make Love to Me
   Label: EMI
   Year: 1956 & 1957
   Release: 2002
   Format: flac
   Time: 58:34
   Size: 158.1 Mb





   In 2002, EMI released Lonely Girl/Make Love to Me, which contained two complete albums -- Lonely Girl (1956, originally released on Liberty) and Make Love to Me (1957, also originally on Liberty) by Julie London on one compact disc.
    ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

     Artist: Prince Alec
     Album: Glam & Love
     Label: Unlimited Sounds
     Year: 2007
     Format, Bitrate: MP3@320
     Time: 78:43
     Size: 182 Mb

   Since Jack Johnson we know that a surfer can also be a great musician. Alexander Wilken, alias Prince Alec, didn`t discover his passion for surfing and swing on Hawaii, but at the seaside of the northern part of Germany.
   Starting his career more than 20 years ago Prince Alec found a way to combine various musical styles. His own fascinating ideas, which obviously arose from his extended travels and intense work with other artists, such as Yasmin K. (vocals), Fontaine Burnett (guitar & vocals) and Jan Kunstmann (trumpets), brought him to the special sound of jazzloungemusic. In his world between Clubmusic, Swing, Loungescene, Jazz and Chillout-music, Prince Alecґs songs never loose the fresh breeze of beachfeeling his home town St.Peter- Ording is all about.
   2006 Prince Alec excited his fans with his first major German-Tour, accompanied by the release of the album ”jazzloungemusic - the new world”. The tour was organized and sponsored by Dunhill with whom Prince Alec still works successfully together. 2007 release of the new album „jazzloungemusic – glam & love”. Prince Alec extends his liveband. DJ Sinan Mercenk adds new spicy moments by improvising sound & beatelements with the musicians on stage. 2007 May - Prince Alec retreats to hawaii to produce the new album ”Hawaiiloungemusic”. By the end of June he will present the fruits of his work live in Hamburg. This album will be released as a limited edition only.
      Our-Distribution.com

     Artist: Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis with Shirley Scott
     Album: Smokin'
     Year: 1958
     Label: Prestige/OJC
     Format: APE
     Size: 218.44 MB
     Time: 35:04



     Tenor-saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis cut enough material during these two sessions to fill up four records. The seven selections included on this brief 36-minute CD which was recorded during the same period as Davis's better-known Cookbook albums) also include Jerome Richardson (switching between flute, tenor and baritone) on three of the numbers, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Arthur Edgehill. Together the group swings hard on basic originals, blues and an occasional ballad, showing why this type of accessible band was so popular during the era.
    ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artist - Gustav Brom Big Band
     Album - Legenda
     Label - Musica
     Years: 1962-1975, release - 1996
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 141 mb
     Total time - 65:46

     В далёкие советские времена возможностью утолить свой "джазовый голод" можно было слушая иногда гастролировавшие в стране джазовые коллективы из социалистических стран, либо приобретая их грампластинки. Среди них были прекрасные коллективы и музыканты. Одними из лучших были оркестры из Чехословакии: Карела Влаха, Карела Краутгартнера и Густава Брома, с последним я хочу вас сегодня познакомить.

     Gustav Brom, (May 22, 1921 - September 25, 1995) was a Czech big band leader, arranger, clarinettist and composer. He achieved fame in Europe and abroad from the 1940’s right through to his death in 1995. He worked prolifically and was noted for remaining true to the jazz big band idiom, beginning with Dixieland and swing and later, with contributions from his musicians, moving into the West Coast jazz sound.

     In the 1960s Brom’s band was rated one of the top ten big-bands in the world by the American jazz polls. Maynard Ferguson, Dizzy Gillespie, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Ray Conniff, Ben Cramer, Bill Ramsey and others joined the Gustav Brom Big-band in many concerts and performances and the band’s name became well known and respected among professional performers as well as the discerning public.

Brom was honoured in 1993 with the Luděk Hulan Jazz Award, presented yearly by the Czech Jazz Society, Prague.

     Artist: Chick Corea & Friends
     Album: Remembering Bud Powell
     Label: Stretch
     Year: 1997
     Format, bitrate: Mp3, 320 kb/s
     Time: 1:13:44
     Size: 170 Mb (cover)
     AMG Rating:

     Pianist Chick Corea in 1996 gathered together some notable young all-stars (tenor-saxophonist Joshua Redman, trumpeter Wallace Roney, altoist Kenny Garrett, bassist Christian McBride, plus veteran drummer Roy Haynes) for explorations of tunes by the innovative pianist Bud Powell. Although "Bouncin' With Bud," "Tempus Fugit" and "Celia" have been occasionally recorded by others, most of the complex songs (including "Mediocre," "Dusk In Sandi," "Oblivion" and "Glass Enclosure") have rarely been played in recent decades. Rather than play revivalist bebop, Corea and his associates (after authentically stating the melody) perform modern post bop improvisations in their own styles, so much of the music is way beyond bop. In addition to nine Powell songs, Corea contributed a song rightfully titled "Bud Powell." All of the talented musicians have a fair amount of solo space and sound consistently inspired, making this a very successful and easily recommended project.
   ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artist: Brian Lynch
     Album: Peer Pressure
     Label: Criss Cross
     Year: 1986
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320
     Time: 54:13
     Size: 92.4MB




     Lynch wrote three of the seven tracks, while Horace Silver, Benny Golson, Tommy Turrentine and Cole Porter penned one apiece. His trumpet sound definitely borrows from previous modern masters Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan & Bill Hardman, and the influence of Silver, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and those of the hard/post bop movement cannot be denied. The latin tinge is also prevalent on the Brazilian bossa inflected "Change Of Plan" and Silver's Afro-Cuban tinged classic "The Outlaw." These two selections serve Lynch well for future excursions away from strict mainstream jazz. A rock solid date from a promising musician whose star is on the rise.
   ~ Michael G. Nastos , AMG

     Artist: Chick Corea Quartet
     Album: Time Warp
     Label: GRP
     Year: 1995
     Format, bitrate: Mp3, 224 kb/s vbr
     Time: 57:22
     Size: 111,0 Mb (complete covers)


     Chick Corea features an acoustic quartet on this CD, performing a full set of original material. Although the music is tied to a lengthy, complicated, and philosophical fictional piece outlined in great length in the liner notes (which are not really worth bothering with), the performances by the group (which is comprised of Corea on piano, Bob Berg on tenor and soprano, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Gary Novak) are excellent. Berg continues to grow and show individuality beyond the Michael Brecker influence (especially on soprano), the interplay between Corea and Patitucci is as impressive as ever, and Novak is alert to the constantly changing musical events. Although none of these songs are destined to become standards, the almost-continuous music holds on to one's attention.
   ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artist - Erroll Garner
     Album - Erroll Garner - 1949
     Label - Classics
     Year - 1949, release - 2000
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 111 mb
     Total time - 67:44


Errol Garner's textured, expressive piano playing is featuring on the 2001 compilation 1949. Garner is an interesting player; at times he can be quite powerful and intense as he bangs away on old standards like "All of Me" and "I'm in the Mood for Love." At other times he really adds nothing to the songs, instead just playing the straight melody and letting the original composition speak for itself. These are the moments where he is at his weakest; despite his excellent playing skills, these are songs that are fairly simple and have been performed many times before, and his excellent flourishes would have helped the music out greatly. But then there are the other tracks, which at least balance out the album. The other problem here is the sound quality, something that curses many jazz recordings from this era. Some songs simply sound bad; the album is quite fuzzy and scratchy at times. But, overall, the music on the album manages to impress for a good portion of the album, and fans of Garner can at least get more of his recordings from this era.

   Artist: Chick Corea Elektric Band II
   Album: Paint The World
   Label: GRP
   Year: 1993
   Format, bitrate: Mp3, 192 kb/s
   Time: 1:14:25
   Size: 103 Mb (cover)
   AMG Rating:




   Chick Corea's Elektric Band II found bassist John Patitucci, drummer Dave Weckl and guitarist Frank Gambale going out on their own and being replaced by Jimmy Earl, Gary Novak and Mike Miller. Saxophonist Eric Marienthal was the only sideman from the first Elektric Band to stick with Corea. Although the new members are not as distinctive as their predecessors, the high-quality material played on this release (which includes Jimmy Heath's "CTA," "Blue Miles" and a variety of Corea originals) is very jazz-oriented and occasionally there are straightahead sections. This set is recommended even to listeners who have not yet acquired a taste for fusion.
   ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artist: Various Artists
     Album: La Grande Storia Del Jazz Vol.2: CD - Le citta del Jazz
     Label: la Repubblica + L`espresso
     Year: 2009
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320 kbps
     Time: 55:28
     Size: 126 Mb


   В марте 2009 года итальянская джазовая общественность приветствовала появление коллекции, посвященной великой истории джаза. Внушительное мультимедийное издание состоящее из 12 коробок с аудио и видео материалом (CD+DVD), над которым трудился большой коллектив энтузиастов джаза в течении трех лет, может быть сравнено разве только с знаменитым изданием Кена Бернса. Музыкальные диски посвящены наиболее известным мастерам джазовой сцены, таким как Луи Армстронг, Элла Фицджеральд, Дюк Эллингтон, Бенни Гудмен, Чарли Паркер, Чет Бейкер. Не забыты Джошуа Редман, Мишель Петруциани, Кассандра Уилсон и др. Охвачены все базовые направления в истории джаза. Видео материал взят из документального фильма снятого Еленой Сомаре и Массимо Нунзи. Все это богатство дополнено красочной упаковкой и содержательными буклетами из 24 страниц текста с фотографиями...
   Ed.Espresso.it

     Artist: Charles Mingus
     Album: Mingus Ah Um 50th Anniversary (Legacy Edition - Enhanced 2cd)
     Label: Sony Legacy
     Year: 1959
     Release: 2009
     Format, bitrate: Mp3, 256 kb/s vbr
     Time: 2:32:12
     Size: 202 Mb (cover)
     AMG Rating:

     Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um. The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond. Their razor-sharp performances tie together what may well be Mingus' greatest, most emotionally varied set of compositions. At least three became instant classics, starting with the irrepressible spiritual exuberance of signature tune "Better Get It in Your Soul," taken in a hard-charging 6/8 and punctuated by joyous gospel shouts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a slow, graceful elegy for Lester Young, who died not long before the sessions. The sharply contrasting "Fables of Faubus" is a savage mockery of segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, portrayed musically as a bumbling vaudeville clown (the scathing lyrics, censored by skittish executives, can be heard on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus). The underrated "Boogie Stop Shuffle" is bursting with aggressive swing, and elsewhere there are tributes to Mingus' three most revered influences: "Open Letter to Duke" is a suite of three tunes; "Bird Calls" is inspired by Charlie Parker; and "Jelly Roll" is an idiosyncratic yet affectionate nod to jazz's first great composer, Jelly Roll Morton. It simply isn't possible to single out one Mingus album as definitive, but Mingus Ah Um comes the closest. . . .

     Artist: Eddie Higgins
     Album: You Don't Know What Love Is
     Label: Venus Records
     Year: 2003
     Release: 2008
     Format: WAV
     Size: + - 250 Mb
     AMG Rating:

     Eddie Higgins has been on the jazz scene for a long time, but he seems to be a best-kept secret by those able to track down his various releases for independent labels in the U.S. or Japanese titles, such as this one from Venus. This 2003 session features the veteran purely as a soloist, performing a dozen of his favorite ballads. While most of them are time-tested standards such as the elegant "My Funny Valentine," the shimmering "Beautiful Love," or "Skylark" (with an Asian-sounding introduction that suggests the humor of its composer), there are some lesser-known gems as well. The bittersweet ballad "Yellow Days" hardly pops up on many jazz CDs, though Higgins' richly textured arrangement should attract other musicians to it. Even though one doesn't hear the lyrics to "Again," this seasoned pianist seems to get across the implied apology to a loved one for a senseless quarrel. "Dance Only With Me," an overlooked jewel by the masterful songwriting team of Comden, Green, and Styne, is arranged as an elegant, deliberate waltz. Recorded and mixed in glorious 24-bit digital sound, this is easily one of Eddie Higgins' best all-around recordings. It is available through www.ejazzlines.com.
   ~ Ken Dryden, AMG

     Artist: Diana Krall
     Album: Diana Krall Live in Buenos Aires
     Year: 2000
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kB/s
     Time: 70:35
     Size: 162 MB (with cover+back)

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     Two years before her first commercialy edited live album, Live in Paris, and after a stormy tango night until five o'clock in the morning (as she confesses here) Diana swings fresh as a rose...

     Artist: Iggy Pop
     Album: Preliminaires
     Label: Astralwerks
     Release: 2009
     Format, bitrate: Mp3, 224 kb/s vbr
     Time: 36:13
     Size: 48,4 Mb (covers)
     Bubu's Rating: *****

   Iggy Pop, the Godfather of Punk, takes on the language of romance and gets ”dangerously near jazz” on his new album ”Preliminaires” that will be released this year on the 2nd of June on EMI Music’s Astralwerks label (in Europe was released on the 25th of May). Preliminaires, which means ”foreplay” in French, is score music inspired by Michel Houellebecq’s 2005 novel The Possibility of an Island.
   Iggy’s done it all. You name it: hard drinking, drugs, obsessive sex, aggressive violence on stage, homeless on the streets of Hollywood, pacient at the Neuropsychiatric Institute in Los Angeles, horror and violent movie acting, TV hosting, selling insurances, penned his autobiography, wrote lots of songs and played hard rock and punk music for ages. He checked several times at the hospital in order to overcome his drugs and alcohol addictions. He even made a series of photos for the famous pop artist Andy Warhol in which he exposed his enormous masculinity.
   If you remember ”In A Death Car”, his collaboration with the Croat musician, songwriter and producer Goran Bregovic for ”Arizona Dream” soundtrack, this album is the thing that comes as a natural sequel.
   It seems that the fact he’s now way over 60 years old made him to forget about revolution, protesting and silly stands and become more mature and lay over more serious and listenable music. Certainly, there are moments of bursts and eruptions, he just can’t let go and get rid so easily the devil from inside…but his profound, deep, harsh and hoarse voice that comes from the bottom of his throat, shrouds the songs with a certain beautiful melancholy and sadness.
   If you like the tenebrous Nick Cave the philosophic and musical John Cale, the bluesy Tom Waits and the poetic Lou Reed or Leonard Cohen this is the place for you. - Bubu Hans

     Artist: Chick Corea Elektric Band
     Album: Light Years
     Label: GRP
     Year: 1987
     Format, bitrate: Mp3, 256 kb/s
     Time: 59:46
     Size: 80,0 Mb (covers)
     AMG Rating:



     The second recording by Chick Corea's Elektric Band was the first to feature altoist Eric Marienthal and guitarist Frank Gambale in addition to bassist John Patitucci, drummer Dave Weckl and the leader/keyboardist. Unlike most other fusion groups, these musicians displayed original musical personalitites and Corea's compositions tended to be memorable. This is one of The Elektric Band's better releases.
    ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Chick Corea
     Album: The Chick Corea Electric Band
     Label: GRP
     Year: 1986
     Format, bitrate: Mp3, 192 kb/s
     Time: 57:28
     Size: 79,7 Mb (cover)




     Nine years after the breakup of the final version of Return to Forever, Chick Corea ended a long period of freelance projects by forming his Elektrik Band. This set, the group's initial release, finds Corea meeting up for the first time with the great bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl; half of the selections also have either Carlos Rios or Scott Henderson on guitar. Due to the high musicianship, the personalities of the players, and Corea's colorful compositions, the Elektrik Band quickly became one of the top fusion groups of the late '80s.
   ~ Scott Yanow, AMG